


Danganronpa: Relocation

by I_write_things



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Murder, Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-11-23 01:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20884238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_write_things/pseuds/I_write_things
Summary: 16 new students are on their way to Hope's Peak Academy for their first day of school. But before they can even enter the premises, they black out and awaken in what appears to be an academy of some kind. None are sure why they're are there, but they do know one thing. In order to escape, you must commit a murder and get away with it.





	1. Prologue: Awaken to Despair (1)

I was finally almost there. That walk from home to here felt like it dragged on for hours, most likely caused by my mind constantly wandering to the varying possibilities of what my life was going to be like now that I could finally lay eyes upon the place. Hope's Peak Academy, no doubt one of the most prodigious schools in the country, if not the world. I had always heard about it growing up, how some children spent their entire childhood trying to hone some sort of talent so that they'd be chosen to attend the legendary academy. And yet, despite never even imagining a girl like me would end up going here, here I am just down the road from its gates. I wasn't picked at random or anything, and I didn't have wealthy or powerful connections, no I was picked because I had talent. I mean, if you could call cleaning a talent. Yep, the reason I was walking toward such a grand place was because I was the best janitor around.

Others were here because they were athletic, smart, or unique in some way, and I was here because some scout saw me and said 'Ultimate Janitor! That's what our school needs!'. Wouldn't be surprised if they just took me in so I could work there when I grew up; Hope's Peak is a big place after all. Nonetheless my mother and I both knew this was an amazing opportunity, so of course I accepted the invitation. As I walked closer and closer to where I'd be spending the next few years learning there was a sudden dizziness that had overtaken me. My vision blurred and all I could see was my face making contact with the pavement before everything went dark. Amidst that darkness everything felt heavy and light at the same time, almost like I was dreaming while being awake. But I must have been dreaming because my eyes shot open, not to see morning sunlight, but the dim glow of a single light bulb. I was supposed to be meeting with my class for our first day at Hope's Peak Academy. So why was I in a closet?

**Prologue: Awaken to Despair**

It was a sight I recognized all too well. I had woken up in a supply closet of some sort, with my legs currently draped over an empty mop bucket and my head laying on the hard floor. I sat up while brushing a strand of my long messy black hair out of my face and blinking my yellow eyes. Getting onto my feet I saw that everything seemed to be in check, I still had my plain old white sneakers, raggedy dark jeans, and my white hoodie. But said white hoodie was missing something crucial from its pocket; my phone. I frantically looked around the closet to see if I had dropped it somewhere, and while I didn't find it, it made me wonder about the bigger question.

_"Where the hell am I?"_

Still a little groggy, I stumbled out of the closet and into a much better lit room. It appeared to be an entrance of some kind; a quaint little space with the odd chair and piece of decorum. What immediately demanded my attention however was the incredibly large vault-like metal door. I found myself drawn to it taking slow steps to process what was before me. It was a bare vault door on a bare metal wall which clashed against the more natural looking white walls. More concerning was the thing that appeared to be a gatling gun hanging from the ceiling beside the door. Before I could even gulp, I heard the set of wooden doors opposite the vault door creak open, and in walked another person. It was a pale skinned boy, dressed head to toe in nearly all black. Black leather shoes, dress pants, and overcoat. His eyes and short fluffy hair weren't very colorful either, both being a dull grey. The only splash of color on him was the red scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Oh, hello?" I greeted hesitantly. He seemed to be around my age but I was slightly hesitant to greet him considering the situation.

"Hello," he greeted dryly, "Did you wake up in this place as well?"

"Yeah, I did! Are you the same?" I asked.

The boy nodded at me. "That I am. I woke up out in the hall just beyond these doors," he said with a point to the doors he had just entered in from. "Are you also missing your cellphone?"

"Yeah...Was kinda hoping you had yours..."

The boy stared and then seemed to forget about me as he walked past me and examined the metal door for himself. He looked for things I did, some sort of mechanism to open the large door, but there wasn't one. "Hmm," was all he said before turning around and making tracks back to the normal doors.

"H-hey!" I called out.

He turned back still completely blank faced. "Hmm? Did you need something?"

"Uh, well no but- Shouldn't we have introductions or something? I mean we're both in this weird situation together, right?"

The boy rubbed his chin while looking me over. "Actually, its good that you stopped me. I have a question for you."

_"Still skipping introductions then?"_ "What is it?"

"Are you a new student at Hope's Peak Academy?"

I was surprised to hear him ask that, for a moment I had forgotten where I was supposed to be. "T-that's right! How'd you know?"

"Because I am as well. I was on my way over there when I seemed to have blacked out," the boy explained, yet didn't seem too concerned about it.

"So I wasn't the only one..."

The boy's face remained blank while looking me over. "It seems we're both in the same predicament, both of us heading to Hope's Peak before blacking out and ending up in this strange place." He looked at the vault door again before continuing, "And it would seem introductions will be in order. I am Yuu Yukimori, the **Ultimate Private Investigator**."

Despite the odd situation, we were still classmates so I put on the best smile I could and greeted him back, "I'm Tsukiko Kurosawa, and I'm the **Ultimate Janitor**."

"Janitor?"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," I sighed.

"I don't find that amusing, just unexpected is all." We exchanged looks for a moment longer before he suddenly spun around and was heading out the door.

"Hey! Where are you going?!"

He stopped and barley turned his head back to me. "It's clear that we are in a strange and possibly dangerous situation Tsukiko, therefore I am going to look for an exit, this room does not contain an exit, so I'm leaving," he explained almost robotically before continuing to make his exit.

He was definitely right about one thing, this situation was definitely strange, and I didn't want to be alone in it. Yuu was a classmate and he certainly seemed to know what he was doing, so that was reason enough to jog out after him. When I entered out into the halls I could see white walls with black bottoms, tiled flooring, and fluorescent lights up above. I also saw multiple cameras and monitors scattered about at key points along the halls. Across from the doors I had just come out of was another set of double doors, to the left and right were halls that must have led off to more branching areas. Yuu stood just outside the door and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

Yuu seemed to think it over before saying, "A second pair of eyes may prove useful, and I could use your help if our kidnapper is lurking about."

As he began to walk I asked him, "Shouldn't we look here first?" I finished with a jutted out thumb to the set of double doors opposite the ones we had just come out of.

"Tried them when I woke up, they're locked," he answered simply.

With that I found myself following alongside my rather silent classmate. We walked down the left hall first and came across a set of restrooms in the middle of the path on our left hand side.

"Let's investigate," Yuu stated.

"Sure," I said. I had said that rather amicably but that changed after I saw him pushing open the door to the women's restroom. I reached out a hand to grab his own pale one and nearly shouted, "Wait, what are you doing?!"

His face didn't change but I could detect a hint of confusion in his voice, as if I was the idiot. "Investigating?"

"You can't go in there!"

"Why not?

"Because it's the women's restroom!"

"And? We're investigating, we can't overlook a single place."

I sighed while shaking my head. "You are something else...Look, how about I investigate for you?"

"As long as you do a thorough job," he answered robotically before heading straight into the men's restroom.

I did as promised and looked around the dark pink tiled restroom and sure enough it was just a plain old bathroom, no oddities in there. I still wasn't sure what to think of Yuu either. He seemed like a good guy, but he also seemed distant and didn't express his feelings.

_"Maybe I just need to get to know him better?"_ I thought while exiting the restroom the same time as Yuu.

"Find anything?" Yuu asked me.

"Nope."

"Then let us proceed," he quickly said, already getting back to heading down the hall.

Now that I was walking alongside him again I decided to say, "So, being a detective must be exciting."

"Private Investigator, not a detective, there's a difference," he quickly corrected me.

"Oh, like what?"

He was still completely blank and facing forward when he answered, "Detectives usually work directly for and with the police department, in addition, they mostly handle homicide cases. I work alone for private citizens, typically with cases the police won't take or ones that have gone cold. Most people come to me to find out if they're being cheated on, or to find a missing loved one of theirs."

"Well, have you ever worked on a homicide case?"

"Few times, wasn't alone though. If the usual detectives hit a dead end they'll call me for a fresh set of eyes." Despite the fact he was talking about helping people in need and solving murder cases, Yuu still looked and sounded completely deadpan. He caught me off guard however when he asked, "What about you, you said you were a janitor so where have you worked?"

Didn't think someone like him would care to ask questions of pleasantry, but I was happy to answer, "My school mostly. Had plenty of night jobs around town with some of the stores and local businesses."

"You worked a night job while attending school?"

"Yeah, it wasn't a big deal. I worked so fast that I still got home in time to head to bed."

"Hmm." It seemed like Yuu had further questions but held off on them as we neared our next place of interest.

At the end of the left hall was an open square area decorated with trophy cases and banners in celebration of various sports. Directly in front of us was a set of double doors, to the right was another hall, and to the left was a blank wall. Seemingly gathering all the information he could from the area with just a few glances, Yuu didn't stop moving forward and went through the set of doors and into what could be immediately identified as a gym. It was a wide open space with basketball hoops on either side, a stage area toward the back, and off to the side of that was no doubt the storage area. In the wide open space of the gym ran a boy, one who ran over to us with a bright smile.

"Hey, more people! You two Hope's Peak students too?" he asked, taking a deep breath while looking us up and down.

The boy certainly seemed to be the athletic type. His feet were clad in white and blue running shoes, and he was dressed in a blue track suit with white highlights; slightly zipped down to reveal his white undershirt. His blond hair had clearly been shaved short recently, and his simple dark eyes were filled with nothing but excitement and curiosity.

"Yeah we are," I began, putting on a smile of my own, "I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor, and this is Yuu, the Ultimate Private Investigator."

He looked at us both slowly. "Tsukiko and Yuu...Ok! Got it!" He raised his hand in a sort of friendly waving gesture as he smiled. "Well I'm Katsuo Nakahara! I'm the **Ultimate Track Runner**!"

Yuu got straight down to business with the boy, "Did you wake up here without your cellphone? Also, you mentioned more people. Do you just mean us or have you met others before we came here?"

Katsuo looked around the gym. "Yeah man it was crazy! I woke up in the storage room in the back and just like you said I noticed some jerk nabbed my phone! When I finally came out I saw a boy and girl laying next to each other in the middle of the room. Talked to 'em a bit before they went off on their own."

"Why didn't you go with them?" I asked.

Katsuo stretched his arms and gave another grin. "Well because I wanted to get a good run in and check out the gym!"

"And is now really the best time for that?" I followed up.

"I don't see why not! We're in Hope's Peak, right? This is all probably one big crazy orientation thing by the faculty for us to explore our new school. Not sure why they took our phones though..."

"You really think this is Hope's Peak?" Yuu questioned.

"Well...Yeah? I mean, that's where we were all going right? Makes sense that's where we are."

"And you don't find the whole blacking out thing bizarre?" Yuu questioned even further.

"I...hmm...well when you put it that way..." The track star then shook his head. "Eh, whatever! I'm sure there's a good explanation for this! Let's not freak out until there's a reason to."

Yuu sighed, "Very well then." No longer interested in speaking with Katsuo, Yuu decided to leave out the way we came.

"Enjoy your run Katsuo," I said as I went to follow alongside Yuu.

"Take it easy you two!" he called out, getting back to running as soon as we departed.

Out the doors, we then headed down the hallway now on our left. Along the wall were two doors, and at the end of the hall was some sort of dark open archway with the words "Gift Shop" above it. Curious as I was to see what that was about, Yuu said it'd be best to investigate the two doors first. Looking in each yielded little answers, as both were nothing more than empty classrooms. What we did find alarming was that in each room the windows were covered in metal plating. Try as we might the plates were screwed tightly into the wall.

Back in the hall Yuu spoke, "This does appear to be an academy of some sort, whether or not it's Hope's Peak remains to be seen. The plated windows are especially concerning. It seems we have indeed been kidnapped and are being held against our will."

"You don't sound as worried as you should be right now."

"Well that's because we're not in any immediate danger. Our kidnapper is letting us roam freely for some reason, which means we can try to look for an exit they overlooked."

Robotic as ever my classmate continued to walk down the hall for the much more intriguing gift shop. Once inside my eyes were assaulted by a variety of colors and random objects of all sorts. I'd be lying if I said none of the objects in the room didn't catch my attention, but we had more important things to focus on. There was also an odd gashapon machine shoved against the right wall that was labeled the "MonoMono Machine". After getting a good look around the room's interesting objects it was then I noticed the two people there who noticed us as well.

The girl of the two immediately perked up. "Oooh, look Daisuke! New friends!" The girl suddenly ran up to me and took my hands into hers. "Your hair looks pretty, you should let Hana style it for you later! Oh, you two are students too right?"

The girl was shorter than me and looked up at me with soft blue eyes. She seemed quite girly with her white sundress decorated with elegant images of blooming pink flowers. Said pink flowers were the same color as her long silky hair, and the sandals she wore. Another thing that caught my eye was the white flower hair ornament resting by her left ear.

I finally got around to answering the girl, "Y-yeah we are. I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor."

I looked over to Yuu waiting for him to introduce himself. Catching my look he sighed, "Yuu, Ultimate Private Investigator. Now-"

The girl giggled to herself still not letting go of my hands, "Yuu and Tsukiko, those are cute names~ Hana can't wait to get to know you better!"

"Hana?"

The pink hair girl released me and gave some sort of curtsy. "That's me, I'm Hana Mori! They told Hana that she's the **Ultimate Florist**!" she smiled proudly.

"They?" I asked.

The guy in the room finally got closer to us and explained, "She's talking about Hope's Peak Academy." He then put out a hand to shake, and knowing Yuu probably wouldn't, I shook it for the both of us. "Anyway, I'm Daisuke Matsumoto, and I'm the **Ultimate Hunter**. Sup."

Despite being a hunter he didn't really look the part. The camo pants and old black hiking boots might've conveyed that, but the near completely unzipped snug dark grey jacket exposing a black t-shirt certainly didn't (then again the t-shirt did have a stag skull on it). Neither did the black ball cap being mostly covered by his drawn grey hood. I could see his semi-long dark green hair coming out from under his cap, his eyes being a similar shade of green.

"So you're the Ultimate Hunter? Not what I would've guessed at first sight," I said.

He chuckled, "What, were you expecting me to be all dressed up in my hunting gear? I like to dress comfortably when I'm not out in the woods." He pointed to me, "Besides, I wouldn't have guessed janitor at first glance either."

"Well I like to dress comfortably when I'm not busy cleaning up other people's messes."

"Touché," he simply shrugged with a smile. "Ow! Hana!?"

To both our surprise, Hana had come up behind Daisuke and pinched his cheek. "Don't be mean to our new friends Daisuke!"

"I wasn't!"

Looking between them I had to ask, "I know we're all new students to Hope's Peak, so how do you two know each other?"

Hana finally let up and Daisuke wrapped an arm around her. "Hana here is my girlfriend," he answered with a grin that just screamed 'I am the luckiest guy in the world'.

The florist smiled and leaned her head against him. "Daisuke has been Hana's friend since she was little."

"Aw that's cute!" I let out mostly unintentionally. I never really had time for friends, let alone a relationship. Still, seeing Hana look so happy made it seem appealing.

Yuu couldn't care less though. "Fascinating. Now tell me, did you two black out before arriving to Hope's Peak?"

"Got that right man. We were walking together and all of a sudden Hana said she wasn't feeling good, and before I could do anything I suddenly got all dizzy too."

"When Hana woke up she thought she went to sleep somewhere and forgot where she was. That happens sometimes...."

"Anyway, we woke up together in the gym and noticed our phones were gone. Now we're just kinda poking around."

Hana jumped in again, "The windows are covered up! Hana doesn't know why someone wants to keep the sunshine out!"

"We saw that too," I said. "There's also a big vault door blocking what I assume is the entrance."

Daisuke groaned, "Seriously? Man this is getting more fucked up by the minute..."

Hana locked hands with the hunter. "It's ok Daisuke! We've got each other so it's not so bad!"

He laughed pitifully in response, "Guess you're right." I didn't need to be a private investigator like Yuu to notice he was probably more worried about her being kidnapped with him; made sense since she'd clearly be better off outside of this place.

"Hey, why don't you come investigate with us?" I suggested, honestly hoping to get to know my fellow classmates better while we searched.

But Yuu objected, "Four is a crowd, if you want to stick with them be my guest. I'm moving on," he finished and immediately turned to leave.

"Yuu!" I shouted before turning to apologize to the others, "I'm sorry you guys, he's a bit curt. We'll talk later though!" I called back to them while catching up once again with Yuu.

"For sure!" Daisuke called out.

"Bye bye!" Hana waved.

I found Yuu heading back down the hall we had first entered, now heading in the opposite direction. Falling into step with him I said, "Hey, that was a bit rude you know."

"If you want to make friends go right ahead, I'm trying to find an exit." That sentence would've sounded way more cold if Yuu didn't have such a deadpan tone.

"I get that, but these people are still our friends and classmates. We're all in this weird situation together. So maybe you can try to be friendlier with them?"

Instead of answering, Yuu just shook his head dismissively and tightened his scarf. Soon enough we passed by the entrance and were now heading down the right hall. Reaching the end revealed it branched off in two different directions, with a set of large round wooden doors in front of us at the crossroads. Deciding the doors were the best place to start, Yuu and I entered. A large dining hall was laid out before us, with many small round tables surrounding a large rectangular shaped one in the center. Tucked away in the corner of the room was a small men's restroom and women's restroom. An opening in the left wall led to what was no doubt the kitchen.

"Oi, you two," a stern voice called out.

A girl dressed in a police uniform approached us, although she seemed to be missing her equipment. What was also missing was a police hat, which meant her short neatly kept brown hair was clear to see. As she got closer she examined us with her sharp silver eyes.

"Are you two Hope's Peak Academy students?"

"We are," I answered.

She seemed to relax a little. "And you both blacked out before coming here, in addition to losing your cellphones?"

"Right again," I said.

She sighed, "That seems to be the consensus with everyone I've talked to so far. Ah, but where are my manners, introductions are in order. I am Kamiko Anzai, and as long as the **Ultimate Police Officer** is here you have nothing to fear."

"A police officer? That's pretty reassuring actually!" I said to the strong looking Kamiko.

She nodded to me. "Everyone's a little shook up about suddenly waking up in this place, but don't worry, I'll make sure we all get out of here safe and sound. And I'll be sure to bring the bastards responsible for this to justice!" she finished with a clenched fist.

"Thank you, I'm Tsukiko by the way, the Ultimate Janitor," I said with a wave.

Yuu suddenly got in front of me with an introduction of his own. "Yuu Yukimori, Ultimate Private Investigator. Have you noticed the barred off exits?"

Kamiko didn't miss a beat. "That I did, it's clear we've been kidnapped, I suspect by multiple individuals."

"We appear to be in a school of some kind, why though?"

"Remains to be seen, more importantly why did we all black out before arriving at Hope's Peak?"

"Could they be involved somehow?"

"Doubtful, but not out of the question. Another thought, why have our captors not restrained us?"

"Perhaps they're confident we cannot escape this building and are keeping us here to ransom us off?"

"Entirely possible."

I looked on as the two continued to stare at each other blankly before Yuu spoke again, "More investigation is required before we can theorize."

"Agreed, we'll reconvene later." And with that the Ultimate Police Officer was off to continue her own personal search.

Meanwhile I was left still staring at Yuu, who glanced my way with a simple, "What?"

Moving right along we decided to check out the kitchen next. It was well stocked and came with plenty of modern fancy machinery any kitchen could ever need. The one exception in the room being the doctor looking guy standing by one of the counters. As we walked up to him I noticed he was carefully and perfectly peeling the skin from an apple using a small kitchen knife. The boy was dressed in surgeon scrubs, including a tight surgical mask wrapped over his face. However he wore no cap, thus his long scraggily chestnut hair was only mostly contained into a ponytail. Noticing our presence, he turned to look at us with his ominous dark brown eyes behind the lenses of his black rectangular glasses.

"Oh? More people?" he quietly spoke.

Skipping introductions Yuu asked, "I assume you've already spoken with Kamiko?"

"The police girl? Yes, I did. In fact that's why I'm back here, I'm rather troubled," he calmly said while continuing to peel the apple.

"So you're peeling an apple because you're troubled...?" I asked, staring at his smooth movements with the knife.

"Yes. It's soothing," was his simple answer.

I could see Yuu was getting ready to take off. Since Kamiko had already spoken with him, Yuu probably figured it wasn't worth asking him the same questions. But I held onto my gloomy classmate to make sure he didn't run off before we all got properly introduced.

"We should introduce ourselves. I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor, and this Yuu, the Ultimate Private Investigator," I said to the rather ominous boy.

Once more he looked away from his fruit, this time however he set aside the knife. He seemed to stare at us before finally saying, "I am Osamu Ikeru, I am known as the **Ultimate Surgeon**."

"Wow! You're a surgeon at your age!? That's pretty incredible, especially since you save peoples lives and all," I couldn't help but exclaim. It was guys like him that reminded me just how out of league my talent was in comparison.

Surprisingly though the boy slightly chuckled beneath his surgical mask, "Save peoples lives? Hardly."

"Huh?"

Osamu got closer to me and seemed to be staring directly into my soul as he spoke, "I don't save 'lives', I save bodies."

Yuu certainly didn't seem to care but I had to ask, "Is there a difference?"

"The human body is much like a car. Both are made up of many moving parts, and should one of those parts break, the entire machine could cease to function. This is why we have mechanics to keep our cars running, and this is why surgeons exist, to keep the human body running. A human life isn't the body," he poked my forehead momentarily, "it is your consciousness." Returning his hand he poked his own skull. "A human's true life exists within here, and the body is nothing more than the vessel for it."

"I think I get what you mean?" I said with slight confusion.

He turned away and got back to delicately removing the skin from the apple on the counter. "While I cannot save a life I can stitch together and maintain a body. If either of you get injured come to me and I'll treat you with the utmost care."

Osamu was certainly a bit odd, but at the end of the day he was someone who truly helped others, so I could look pass his unusual stare and ominous voice. Moving on from him we were about to exit the kitchen when we came across a little storage area in the back. It was mostly cooking utensils and equipment but back there was what was no doubt another Hope's Peak student. His fair complexion matched his pristine clothing: finely polished leather shoes, a clean white polo shirt, and pressed beige pants fastened with a black leather belt. He turned to us, and that simple little smile seemed to match perfectly with his sparkling blue eyes. His semi-short locks of golden hair were under his grey flat cap, which he was now tipping at us.

"Pardon me, I didn't notice you two come in." As we approached he smiled even more warmly at us. "I heard all about our troubling predicament from Miss Kamiko and decided to help her by looking around. But I suppose it couldn't hurt to learn the names of such a respectable looking man, and fine lady," he said with a wink.

Yuu just rolled his eyes at the boy but answered nonetheless. "Yuu Yukimori, Ultimate Private Investigator."

The boy chuckled, "A police officer and a detective? I'm feeling safer already!"

"I'm not a detec-"

Cutting Yuu off, the boy suddenly turned to me and took one of my hands. "And what about you madam? I'm dying to know the name and talent of my beautiful classmate."

"O-oh, um, I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor," I awkwardly said. Flattery or not I wasn't used to this treatment.

"Janitor!? My goodness what sort of monster forced you into a life of wallowing amongst filth!?" he asked me, aghast at my Ultimate talent.

"Uh...no one really? Kinda made the choice on my own."

"Ah I see. You poor thing, having to claw your way through life just to obtain some sort of Ultimate title, even if it is just that of a janitor. And despite such struggle you've still retained your grace and beauty, Miss Tsukiko you and I are truly birds of a feather!"

I smiled awkwardly. "Um, actually I wasn't trying to become an Ultimate, I just got noticed by coincidence."

He looked at me in confusion. "So you chose to be a janitor and then just happened to be chosen as an Ultimate?"

"Yes?" I answered, still a bit overwhelmed by his reactions.

The boy seemed lost for words for a moment, but he did regain his composure and natural smile. "Well that's very...grand Miss Tsukiko," he seemed to chuckle forcefully. It was then he must've noticed my look of confusion and Yuu's dull stare because he cleared his throat, "My apologies, I still haven't even introduced myself!" The charming young boy bowed and looked back up at us with his introduction, "My name is Ken Kaneko, and I am the **Ultimate Golfer**. Charmed I'm sure."

"Golf huh." Wasn't exactly my favorite sport.

"Do you play Miss Tsukiko?" Ken asked eagerly with a grin.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Well I enjoy mini golf."

Ken chuckled, "Much easier than my real games, but mini golf can provide a fine distraction for an evening."

Yuu was giving me a look signaling his patience to stand around had run thin. I was appreciative that he was at least giving me a heads up this time. So I decided to wrap things up with Ken, "Well it was nice meeting you Ken, but Yuu and I have to get back to looking around."

"Ah of course, don't let me keep you. Perhaps the three of us can have a relaxed game on the green sometime, right Mr. detective?"

"Not a detective," Yuu firmly stated as he marched out the door.

Back out in the hall we now had the choice to head to the left or the right. On our left we could see the end of the hall which had three metal doors: one on the end wall, one on the right, and one on the left. Off to the right we could spy an elevator at the end of the hall, with a set of stairs on the left, and another set on the right. Personally I wanted to see what that elevator was all about, but Yuu wanted to head left first. I went along with him of course, but I wasn't expecting him to start talking to me.

"Tsukiko, why do you bother talking to these people?"

"Um, because they're our classmates? I mean, despite the weird way we've all been brought together we were all going to end up together one way or another. So why not try to be their friends?"

"...Seems like a hassle."

"Well it's a hassle I wouldn't mind trying."

"Oh?" Yuu raised an eyebrow at me.

"What, did I say something weird?"

"You make it sound as if you don't already have friends."

"I don't, I never really had time for any," I admitted sadly. "I never thought I'd end up being an Ultimate or anything so I made sure to study extra hard in school so that I could keep getting good grades and advancing. That plus multiple part time jobs to help out my family meant I just didn't really have any time to focus on making or maintaining friendships. Not that I'd even really know where to start." I couldn't tell what Yuu was thinking, his scarf often masked his lips, and his eyes seemed eternally blank. "Anyway, I was really glad to be chosen to come to Hope's Peak because I thought maybe it was a chance for me to relax a little and finally make some friends. Being apart of a class of people I shared something in common with gave me all the confidence I needed to just go for it. You know, even though my talent is kinda lame in comparison to the some of the others."

"I see. Well just be careful. Friendships don't last forever."

"I know, but even if it's just for the time I spend at Hope's Peak I'd love to make some memories with these guys!" I said hopefully. And I meant it, I hadn't even met everyone yet and I already wanted to get to know them better. "Oh, and you of course!"

Yuu seemed to avoid my eyes, muttering under his scarf, "You're something else..."

I didn't have time to dwell on whether or not that was a compliment because we had finally arrived in front of the three doors. Beyond the right door was a small little laundry room with a few rows of both washing and drying machines. In the room was a large boy and a small girl. Yuu decided to question the boy while I chatted with the girl. Her entire tiny frame was covered in a large dark brown cloak covered in strange intricate dark markings that seemed like they came out of some fantasy movie. Two thin twintails from her platinum hair spilled out from under the hood and onto her chest. When I got close she seemed to jump a little and examine me cautiously with her bright orange eyes, which were behind her round spectacles.

"H-hello..." she greeted hesitantly. "D-do you know where we are...?"

"Hi, and no I don't unfortunately. Everyone blacked out on their way to Hope's Peak and just woke up here. That's what happened to you too, right?"

She nodded before readjusting her glasses. "Yeah that did happen. W-when I woke up here I-I was really scared....But thankfully I met Taro, and he kept me calm."

"Taro?"

She pointed her tiny index finger over to the mountain of a highschool student talking with Yuu. "I-I want to just go home curl up in bed and forget about all this....but I can't....So Taro said we should get to know everyone around here, a-and look around."

"I see," I smiled, "Well my name is Tsukiko, I'm the Ultimate Janitor. What about you?"

"Oh! W-well I-I'm uh....A-actually Tsukiko c-can I ask a question first?" she asked while fidgeting under her cloak.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well...do you...like games?"

I didn't think that'd be the question. "Well yeah, who doesn't? Did you have specific ones in mind?"

Her fidgeting hadn't ceased. "Oh well you know like...board games? Maybe like..." Her voice seemed to grow even quieter, "D&D..."

I couldn't help but let a small laugh escape because I didn't understand why that was such a worrying thing to ask. "Yeah I like D&D, my big brother was pretty into it so I've played a few times."

The girl immediately brightened up after hearing that, her once quiet voice was now filled with excitement, "Really!? That's great!"

I smiled back at her quite frankly adorable beaming face and said, "I take it this has something to do with your talent?"

"Ah! That's right, I forget to introduce myself! I-I'm so sorry Tsukiko!" she apologized with a bow. "My name is Eiko Nakagame...and I'm the **Ultimate Dungeon Master**."

"The Ultimate Dungeon Master huh, that's pretty cool."

"Really, you think so!?" she said in disbelief. "Most of my old c-classmates used to make fun of me for playing it..."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Really? I didn't think D&D was too uncommon nowadays. Still if you enjoy playing it that's all that matters."

Eiko smiled once more. "I-I hope our classmates like it...or are at least willing to try it. I'd love to play a game with you all some day!" she nearly shouted as if it were some kind of embarrassing confession.

"I'd like that too! But wait...if you never played it with people at your school, how'd you become an Ultimate?"

"Oh, well I met some late highschoolers and a few university students and played with them."

_"Wasn't expecting that..."_

Strange as it sounded, Eiko smiled warmly on the memories. "They didn't take me seriously at first, in fact, I think they let me play with them the first time just to humor me. But they appreciated my roleplaying skills, and we all just kinda became friends! Eventually they let me host a campaign and they loved it! Soon enough I was hosting almost every campaign, which led them to recommend me to some of their friends who I also hosted for." Eiko just got more and more giddy as she carried on, "Now I even make some money by selling campaign stories and outlines for other DM's to use."

"Wow you must DM some pretty good games then! Now I can't wait for us all to play together!"

At this point Eiko's fears had fully vanished, replaced with nothing but joy for the future. "Me too! It'll be so much fun! Taro said he's never played before but was willing to try!"

Speaking of which, I could spy out of the corner of my eye that Yuu was signaling me to switch with him, which meant it was time for me to chat with Taro and for him to mercilessly question Eiko. After exchanging goodbyes with Eiko I headed over to Taro, hoping Yuu wouldn't be too harsh with the dungeon master. Instead of looking down on my classmate I was now craning my neck up slightly. The boy had to be well over six feet tall, and the worn boots he wore certainly didn't make him any shorter. His muscular legs were covered by a pair of jeans, and his burly chest was covered by a tight short sleeved rust colored button up shirt. His slicked back hair, finely trimmed goatee, and glaring eyes were all a shade of dark brown.

His size and stature, plus the crossed arms, didn't exactly seem inviting, but I approached anyway. "Hi there, I'm Tsukiko the Ultimate Janitor. You're Taro, right?"

The gruff looking boy nodded, answering in a deep voice, "That I am. I assume Eiko mentioned me?"

"She did."

"I see, well your friend Yuu mentioned you as well, but I feel I should properly introduce myself. I'm Taro Sakai, **Ultimate Bartender**."

"Bartender? Isn't it illegal for someone your age to serve alcohol?" I asked. I mean, he didn't look his age but still...

"I work in my family's bar, and I never drink the supply so it's fine. Call it a legal grey area. Most patrons don't even realize I'm in highschool anyway."

"Ok... So have you worked in other bars?"

"A few. Tried to branch out and give other places a try, but most of them were noisy and the patrons showed me no respect. Thought they could break the rules or mess with me once they found out my age," he explained while cracking his knuckles, "but I set 'em straight."

_"He serves alcohol and beats up grown men!? This guy is no ordinary highschool student that's for sure..."_

"Anyhow, got tired of beating up drunkards so I went back to my family's bar and I haven't left since."

"And that's where you were scouted as an Ultimate?"

"Yep. Don't mean to take credit for my family's hard work but I like to think I had my own part to play in our popularity. The Sleeping Wolf was always a local favorite, good drinks, good company, and great atmosphere. Whether you wanted to celebrate or relax after a tough day, we'd treat our guests right as long as they did the same. Didn't even realize I was serving and chatting up the scout when he came in. Think he even forgot why he was there for a bit; we got to talking about his personal problems for a good long while."

"That's...pretty damn incredible," I admitted. He was a highschool student just like me, and yet he seemed to exude this aura of maturity beyond his years.

Maybe I had just gotten used to it but his face seemed a lot softer now. "Listen, we're in a real weird mess right now, being kidnapped and all, but if you're feeling worried don't hide it. You can confide in me if you have to."

"I think I'll be ok, some people are pretty shook up though," I said with a look toward Eiko. "But thank you."

"Think nothing of it. And if you just feel like chatting later, I'll lend an ear for that as well."

We each gave each other a respectful nod before parting ways. Heading back over to Eiko and Yuu, I saw what I expected.

"P-please, I-I'm so sorry I couldn't be of any help!" Eiko cried.

"I already said it's fine," Yuu replied, sounding dead as ever. Not caring about the state he left her in, Yuu turned to leave saying, "Let's go Tsukiko."

One brief apology to Eiko later and I was back alongside Yuu. We didn't walk for long though, just taking a quick stroll into the left door back out in the hall. Behind that door was what seemed to be a storeroom, filled with shelves upon shelves of random supplies. Amongst those shelves was yet another boy and girl, and much like last time, Yuu went to question the boy while I met with the girl. The girl's tanned skin was covered in zip up boots, tight dark jeans, and a zipped up black leather jacket with a patch on the back. With the girl turned around scrounging a shelf, it was clear to see the patch was a melting red skull. The skull was a slightly lighter shade of red in comparison to her dark red hair, which she kept the top semi-long and hanging from the left of her face while the sides and back of her head were shaved, leaving only thin little red hairs. While I was examining her hair I also noticed each of her ears had a couple of piercings. Hearing me approach, she turned around to glare at me with her dark eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked without a hint of pleasantry.

"I'm Tsukiko..." I said only somewhat hesitantly, "the, uh, Ultimate Janitor."

"Tsk, I'm Ayano Oka, **Ultimate Graffiti Artist**," she grumbled, ignoring me and getting back to her search.

"What are you looking for?" I asked curiously.

"Fucking spray paint, some walls in this building could do with a bit of redecorating. So fucking boring," she mumbled, knocking aside things on the shelf carelessly.

"I see...But is now really the time to be vandalizing?"

In hindsight that was probably a dumb thing to say to her. Her even harsher tone only reinforced that thought, "It ain't vandalism it's called art! Some bastard kidnaps me and dumps me in some boring shitty ass school and now I've got some janitor bitch complaining at me," she grumbled.

"Sorry, didn't mean to insult your art! But still, shouldn't you be more worried about the fact we've been kidnapped rather than the walls?"

The girl just rolled her eyes. "I can't leave through the windows or the front door, so I might as well kill some time fixing these blank walls."

"Killing time?"

"For the kidnapper or kidnapping bastards to show up so I can kick their asses! I'll knock their fucking teeth out and shove paint cans down their throats," she trailed off, still looking for said paint.

"Right...Well I'm gonna go over there, but we should definitely chat again sometime," I said, trying to end the conversation on a more friendly note.

"Yeah, yeah, just don't go messing with my art, and we won't have a problem," she replied without even looking away from the shelf.

Unexpectedly Yuu had finished questioning the boy when I was on my way over. Also to my surprise he said, "Good luck with that one...." as he passed me by. I would've said the same to him if he hadn't moved so quickly.

The boy Yuu had just finished questioning was quite chubby. Didn't want to be rude, but the boy's simple brown shoes, light green button up shirt, and beige pants seemed slightly tight on him. He ran a hand through his short mundane black hair and readjusted his circular black rimmed glasses as he continued to write in and look over some sort of tiny notebook. Finally taking notice of my presence he looked up at me and stared with his seaweed green eyes.

"Ah, another one to add to the list," he said, his hand writing something in his notebook.

"List?" I asked.

But he seemed to ignore the question. "Well come on then, what's your name and talent?"

"Um, I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor-"

The boy suddenly let out a chuckle and sighed shaking his head, "An average looking forgettable female, and a janitor at that. Oh if there ever were someone to list under the side character category!"

"Side character!? Hey you can't just designate people like they're charac-"

Once again the boy carried on in his own little world, "Now your relevance will rely heavily on what situation we've found ourselves in; horror/mystery/thriller are the most likely candidates at the moment. Assuming that is the case, I suspect you could be a lovable side character who will sadly fade into the background as our story progresses, or you could wind up dead early on. Perhaps you might even become the love interest for a more important character, possibly even the protagonist," he took a break to snicker, "although that is highly unlikely! Speaking of, I still haven't met everyone yet so that role is still unfulfilled, but that Yuu fellow sets a strong case for such a role." He stroked his chin still ignoring me. "Yes...Yes, he has a harsh exterior but perhaps he really cares deep down. The death and suffering of a few side characters could cause him to step up as a tough but loving no nonsense leader..." he trailed off jotting down more notes. When he finally stopped, his eyes were refocused on me. "Oh, you're still here?"

Trying to move past....whatever that was, I said, "You sure do talk a lot about other people. Care to tell me about yourself?"

"Oh I suppose," he said, sounding as if I inconvenienced him. "I am Fumio Fukami, and I have been granted the title of **Ultimate Movie Critic**."

"At least things make a _little_ more sense now..." I muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing. So you critique movies huh?"

"Indeed, indeed, but I critique many things. Books, video games, plays, etc. But by far my most popular reviews are my film reviews. A movie's sales can be impacted by one of my reviews alone."

"Seriously? That's pretty crazy, doesn't it ever feel...pressuring knowing your opinion could tank a movie?" I asked. Movies cost a lot of money to make, it'd be a shame to lose profits just because one guy doesn't like it.

"Reviewing the film is never pressuring, I just give my honest opinion no matter what. It's constantly having to turn away and fend off people trying to bribe or sway me into giving a false positive review that is pressuring." He readjusted his glasses and looked me over again. "To be honest I'm surprised you've never heard of me. Ah, but perhaps you've heard the title, _Fumio's Film Feature_, that's my internet show, very popular."

"Oh yeah, now that you mention it I think I've heard some kids at my old school talk about you before! They said your review of, Deep Sea Warfare 2, was a little harsh."

Fumio's prideful tone turned to anger, scoffing at what he heard, "Did they actually like that movie?"

"Well I thin-"

"Jesus Christ-this is what's wrong with cinema these days! The reason why people keep making and throwing mediocre garbage onto the bigscreen is because of fucking neanderthals eating up bullshit and calling it good! Like seriously, that movie was just a blatant cash grab sequel of the first movie with worse pacing and even worse CGI! My god, the first one wasn't even that good! A six out of ten at best! You can like a shitty movie, that's fine, but don't pretend like it isn't objectively trash! Fuck!" he continued to rage.

I decided I'd just have to chat with him later, he seemed a little busy furiously writing in his little notebook. Funnily enough I was again met up with Yuu when he was wrapping up his questions for Ayano. Things didn't seem to be going well...

"Fuck you pig! You can't make me do jack shit, I've got rights!"

Yuu sighed, "First of all, again, I'm not a cop. Second of all, I just asked if you had your cellphone on you."

"And what if I don't?! Is that a crime officer?!"

"_No, but letting people like you breathe should be..._" Yuu whispered behind his scarf.

"I know your type prick, trying to use twisty logic to trick me into incriminating myself with some stupid bullshit law!"

"I...I just...I'm done," Yuu said, breaking away from the conversation to rejoin me by the door.

As we headed to the last door to investigate I said, "Well...they were interesting."

"That's one word for it," Yuu muttered.

The third and final door led us into an incinerator room. There was nothing in it besides said incinerator, which was in perfect working order. On the way out however we noticed up on the ceiling in the middle of the room was some sort of suspended shutter. Yuu explained that there was likely a device somewhere else that could be used to have the shutter come down and cut off access to the incinerator. There wasn't much to be gained or learned form the incinerator room, so we headed back out into the hall and headed toward the elevator and stairs we saw earlier. Before us was a closed off powered down elevator, a set of stairs to our left, and a set of stairs to our right blocked off by tall steel bars. A girl was already there inspecting said bars.

She was tall and elegant, with skin like porcelain, and long hair white as snow. Unmarked white shoes clashed against her black thigh highs, which became hidden under her checkered pattern black and white skirt. Her white buttoned up suit jacket matched well with her black shirt held tight by a white tie. Maybe it's just because her eyes were a clear sky blue, but her stare could only be described as icy.

"Oh? Well what do we have here? More riffraff to bother me?" she said, already dismissing us as trash.

I figured she was just in a bad mood because of the situation so I decided to keep things friendly, "We're not here to bother you, we're just here to introduce ourselves. This is Yuu, the Ultimate Private Investigator," I introduced the gloomy boy who didn't so much as wave, "And I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor."

The girl smirked and narrowed her eyes at us. "So an above average commoner and some lowly peasant. I see."

"Excuse me?" I couldn't help but say. I wasn't sure which of those were supposed to be me but I didn't like it either way.

"And just who are you?" Yuu surprisingly asked.

"Me? You don't know?" she laughed, "Well then I shall grant you the pleasure of knowing my name peasants. I am Yukiko Oshiro, kneel before the **Ultimate Chess Master**!"

"Chess master huh," I simply said aloud, still unsure what to think of the girl.

Yukiko's prideful smirk didn't budge and inch. "Chess is a simple enough game to understand, but to master it can take a lifetime! And yet I've achieved such a status at such a young age, not to mention I'm only improving as the years go by! I haven't lost a single game in years," she finished with the smuggest grin I think I've ever seen.

"Guess you've really earned your Ultimate title then," I said trying to be nice, not that she needed another person to stroke her ego.

"Indeed I have," she acknowledged me before focusing solely on Yuu. "Tell me, do you play chess little ant?"

"Not really," Yuu curtly stated.

"I play it with my mom sometimes," I chimed in.

Yukiko's grin didn't change but she raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh?" she laughed, "Forgive me, I didn't expect a sow like you to even know the rules. Perhaps you could entertain me for a few minutes, although I suspect I'll have to lower myself down to your skill level if we want the game to even _last_ for a few minutes!"

_"I really want to make some new friends here, but maybe I should just avoid this girl..."_ I considered in my mind while Yukiko's giggles died down.

She sighed with a smile, "Well it's been fun peasants, but I really should get back to looking for an exit." And with that she shoved us aside and made confident strides down the hall.

I looked over to Yuu staring at her. "Are you not going to question her like you did the others?"

"Not worth the headache," Yuu answered, heading for the smaller open set of stairs.

We both stopped however when we nearly bumped into the boy coming down them; the first thing we saw were his dingy black and red shoes. He was tall and lanky, with his dark shirt and ripped pants looking a little baggy as a result. Covering his arms and shoulders was a long red coat, which had noticeable burn marks along the bottom. The simple black design on the back was that of an impish looking devil holding a lit match; the mischievous grin on its face almost completely matched the one the boy wore. He looked us over with his half closed dark red eyes and ran a hand through his long dirty blond hair. After stroking his unkempt goatee he finally spoke to us.

"Two more students huh? Don't suppose either of you know where the exit is?"

"No, we don't. We're investigating though," I explained.

"Aw shucks, here I am being on my best behavior and going to school, and then this shit happens. Bites don't it?" he asked, his casual smile still unchanging. Before I could comment he continued, "So what're your names?"

"I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor," I said, waiting for Yuu to introduce himself next. Obviously that wasn't happening anytime soon so I did it for him as usual, "And this is Yuu, the Ultimate Private Investigator."

The boy whistled, "Private Investigator! Well shoot, I feel better already knowing this guy will solve this mystery." The boy pocketed his hands and then said, "Guess it's my turn then. I'm Kosuke Akiyama, the **Ultimate Arsonist**."

"Wait, arsonist? That's a talent?" I asked before something else came to mind, "Actually, is that even legal!?"

Kosuke just laughed, "Hey, I don't burn anything anyone's gonna miss! Just paper, sticks, wooden logs, trash, old buildings, trees-"

"I'm sorry, but that doesn't sound legal!" I exclaimed.

"What, trees? Who cares, you can always just plant a new one."

"No, not that, buildings! Old or not you can't just go burning down buildings!" I explained, baffled that Hope's Peak actually counted this as talent.

"Heh, but those are the most fun," Kosuke said with a fond smile forming on his face, likely remembering one of those buildings going up in flames at that very moment.

Yuu crossed his arms and examined the arsonist. "Hmm, now that I think about it, I've seen your 'work'."

"Oh?"

"You have?" I said.

"Yes, awhile back I was asked to help look into a possible serial arsonist. They always burnt down old homes and buildings considered abandoned, but it's still a crime, not to mention the threat such activities posed if those fires spread," Yuu explained like a machine listing off simple facts.

"If those fires spread," Kosuke repeated in a mocking tone, "Those people were worrying their little heads over nothing. I never burn anything I don't intend to."

"I'm sorry, but I still fail to see how being an arsonist can be a talent," I stated.

Kosuke shook his head and chuckled, "Well sweetheart let me try and explain. Much like how any random nobody can throw a can of paint on a canvas and call himself an artist, any random asshole can light a house on fire and call himself an arsonist. Me, I'm a real artisan, with lighters and gasoline as my tools. Most people are scared of fire, which makes sense I suppose. It can get out of control, consume anything it touches, scar flesh, and its destructiveness only increases with heat. But most people seem to forget we wouldn't be where we are today without fire. In the past all we had for cooking, keeping warm, and lighting up the night was fire. It's something that is so destructive as it is useful, truly it's the most beautiful element in the universe."

"I see," I politely said. I still didn't fully understand it but he had a point; most people only think negatively about fire and forget how much we use it.

"Still a crime," Yuu said.

He...also had a point.

Kosuke certainly didn't care however, the lackadaisical wave of his hand as he passed us by emphasized that. "Eh, maybe I can show you how beautiful fire can be someday. For now though I'm gonna keep looking for an exit. Later."

Unlike with Yukiko, Yuu didn't take his eyes off Kosuke until he was well out of sight. If something was troubling him he didn't voice it because the private investigator silently turned his head back and headed up the stairs. It didn't take long to reach the top, and once we did we saw a long spacious rectangular room that seemed to be some kind of lounge. But it was more than that because I could also spy two short hallways at the back off the room; a blue one on the right and a pink one on the left. There was also an archway off to the left of those halls with a sign above it saying "Bathhouse". The immediate area in front of us though, the lounge area, came equipped a couch, television, movies, reading material, and other miscellaneous odds and ends for a little entertainment. There was also a girl sitting on the aforementioned couch, clearly not in a good mood. Although, that was completely understandable.

The girl's attire seemed as dark as her mood: an elegant lacy black dress, long fingerless gloves that went past her elbow made of the same black material, short dark heels, even her lipstick and eye shadow were black. She had hints of color though from her dark purple nail polish and violet eyes. Even her mostly black long wavy hair resting over her left shoulder had a few strands that were dyed dark purple.

"Hi there," I greeted the girl.

Her mood didn't brighten at our appearance, in fact, I'd say it only worsened. "Hi," she replied sharply.

"Uh, I'm Tsukiko, the Ultimate Janitor, and this Yuu, the Ultimate Private Investigator," I said, giving our usual introduction.

"Neat," she replied, not even bothering to look our way.

Yuu got in front of me and decided since she wasn't keen on being friendly he'd just get his questions out of the way. "Did you bl-"

"Black out on the way to Hope's Peak? Yeah. Is my phone missing? Also yes. Do I have a clue where we are? No. The guy in the red coat already asked me that stuff, so was there something else you two wanted to bother me with?"

Yuu stepped back and went silent, seeing as she was no longer useful to him. I however said, "Well can you at least tell us your name?"

She gave a sigh of annoyance followed by an answer, "Jin Mikazuki, **Ultimate Violinist**. Now would you kindly piss off?"

Moving on from the lounge area to leave Jin in peace, the two of us strolled to the back of the room to further investigate the pink and blue halls. We split off, while Yuu checked blue I checked pink. And I wasn't quite sure what to make of what I saw; four doors on both my left and right, and every door had a plate on it. The square plates on the doors depicted pixel art images, and while I had only just met them, I could easily tell each one was a recreation of the girls Yuu and I met. The first door on the left wall had a little pixelated version of me on it. Yuu came over to look at my doppelganger with me.

"Certainly looks like you," he said.

"I take it the boys are over in the other hall?"

"Yep."

"Oh, let me see yours!" I said, already going to look for his door.

Yuu followed behind me saying, "Why?"

"I'm just curious," I answered, stopping in front of the first door on the right wall in the boys hall. Yep that was definitely Yuu, it was amazing how even the tiny pixelated him looked deadpan. "Aw look, it's even got a cute tiny version of your scarf~"

Yuu didn't say anything to that, but he did seem to examine his scarf while reexamining the tiny him on the door. "This is bizarre."

"Hmm?"

"What do you think these doors are for Tsukiko? Is there something behind them for each of us? Or...do our kidnappers intend for us to stay here?"

I couldn't believe I let the fact we were kidnapped slip my mind. "What, like these are our rooms or something? How long are they going to keep us here?" I reached out a hand to try and open Yuu's door, only to hear a rattle and feel the handle still locked firmly in place. "It's locked..."

"I'd imagine the others are as well," Yuu said.

"You're correct," a feminine voice said from behind us. The dark skinned girl who approached us was dressed in a black suit with black gloves and dress shoes to match. Her tie however was a subdued gold color, somewhat similar to her dull golden eyes. Much like her suit, her lengthy jet black hair was neat and tidy, with the back being tied into a fairly long ponytail. The most curious thing about her was the black bandana wrapped around her face covering the entirety of her face from the nose down; it depicted an image of a skeletal nose and mouth, as if they were her own. It took a second to get used to hearing her talk but only see a stagnant skeletal row of teeth. "When I came by earlier all of them were locked. I assume that is still the case."

"Who are you?" I asked.

Her voice wasn't quite as dead as Yuu's, but it still sounded somewhat robotic, "I am Shizu Kuroko. Thanks to my family's training I have been titled the **Ultimate Hitwoman**."

"Hitwoman? As in you kill people for money?" I asked, failing to hide my slight nervousness. Kosuke was technically a criminal too, but I don't think he's killed anyone.

"Yes, that is correct," Shizu answered simply and without hesitation.

"And you're okay with that?" I asked further, still baffled that I was classmates with a killer.

Shizu seemed slightly confused. "Well...yes? It's just the family business. And it's my duty as my father's only child to carry on his legacy."

Both Yuu and I were silent before the hitwoman. She didn't seem like a bad person at all but her background was just...somewhat unnerving.

Seeing our expressions, Shizu's confusion seemed to turn into shame. "Ah, I apologize. You see I've been homeschooled my whole life and this is my first time going to school and interacting with people my age. I hope you don't think less of me because of my upbringing, and I hope we get along," she finished with a small bow.

"Sorry, your Ultimate talent was just a bit of a shock is all. I hope we get along too," I said with a reassuring smile to the downtrodden hitwoman. "My name is Tsukiko by the way, I'm the Ultimate Janitor." I brazenly pulled in Yuu closer to me. "And this bundle of sunshine is Yuu, he's the Ultimate Private Investigator."

"Don't touch me," Yuu grumbled.

I couldn't see it, but I felt like Shizu had a tiny smile underneath her bandana. "It's very nice to meet the both of you. I look forward to becoming friends once we get out of this place."

Shizu bowed once more to us and walked off on her own. I was left alone with Yuu, who suggested we head back downstairs to look around again now that we had been everywhere we could go.

"So, now what do we do?" I asked the boy in step alongside me.

Yuu sighed, "We've been everywhere we can go, aside from a few locked doors. We should probably meet up with Kamiko and see if she's made any progress in her search."

However before we could set out to look for the police girl, one of the numerous mounted monitors scattered around the place lit up with static. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear a chipper voice say, "Ahem, attention all students, this is your headmaster speaking. I would like to inform you all that the entrance ceremony will begin shortly, please make your way to the auditorium! For all of you unadventurous students, the auditorium is located across from the entrance hall. Please head over right away!" And once the announcement ended the monitors immediately switched back off.

I turned to Yuu. "We're going, right?"

Yuu looked back at the now blank screen. "I don't think we have much choice. It's time to meet our kidnapper."

On our way back over to where the auditorium was located, we came across some of the others heading over that way as well. Our newly formed group walked together with varying degrees of nervousness as we saw that the once locked doors across form the entrance were now wide open, beckoning us in. Peeking beyond those doors we saw a large dark cold auditorium, with nothing but a single stage light offering any illumination. That light was shining down on a podium up on the stage in front of the many rows of seats. "Be cautious everyone," Kamiko warned as we all walked into the dark room.

Some took her advice and inched into the room, scanning the area for danger. While others such as Kosuke and Yukiko, strolled in and took their own seats while waiting to meet with this supposed "headmaster" of ours. A minute or so passed and by then everyone was either sitting or milling about, but then out of nowhere, we heard a high pitched cheerful voice. "Is everyone here? Good!" Our attention was brought to the podium up on stage, where it sounded like the voice originated from. Out from behind that podium leapt a strange black and white teddy bear that took center stage with a big wave of his tiny hands. "Hello everyone! It's nice to meet you all, I'm Monokuma, your new headmaster!"

It took a minute to process what I was looking at. It definitely seemed like a stuffed toy; with a simple bear-like white half, and a sinister looking black half with a nefarious red eye and malicious smile. And when it began to walk and talk, I had to pinch myself multiple times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. All that did was hurt my own arm; yep, this was actually happening, and everyone's faces of shock and confusion proved I wasn't the only one seeing it. How little I knew that this bizarre "dream" was about to turn into an absolute nightmare.


	2. Prologue: Awaken to Despair (2)

After the sudden appearance of the black and white bear everyone in the room had gone silent, staring with shock or intrigue at our "headmaster".

"Is that... a teddy bear?" Ken was the first to utter.

"Why the fuck is it walking and talking!?" Ayano yelled.

"Christ, relax, it's probably just a toy with a speaker in it," Jin groaned in annoyance.

The bear up on stage seemed to get a little annoyed. "I am NOT a teddy bear. As I said, I am Monokuma! I am your handsome, generous, and wonderful headmaster!"

"Not that I disagree with Jin...but this seems to be quite advanced for a toy..." Fumio admitted.

Monokuma looked dejected and lowered his head with a sigh, "Geez, kids can be so untrusting these days... Well to explain it a bit further for you doubtful children; I am a highly intelligent AI housed within this adorable body!"

"I see, an AI in control of a robotic stuffed toy. Fascinating," Osamu whispered.

"This guy gets it!" Monokuma cheered.

"Why did you kidnap us?" Kosuke asked with curiosity, still casually leaning back in his chair.

"You mean why did I graciously bring you into my lovely school? Why, so that you young kids could live out your lives here in this hopeful paradise, safe and sound from the horrid outside world!"

"But we need to go to Hope's Peak Academy to start school..." Hana said in confusion at the situation.

"And I'd rather stay in my own home rather than this hovel of a building, thank you very much," Yukiko chimed in.

Monokuma giggled to himself, "I'm afraid Hope's Peak is no longer interested in accepting you! But lucky for you, I decided I'd let you attend my new school!"

"So this isn't Hope's Peak..." Yuu whispered.

"Yep, yep!" Monokuma quickly said, almost as if shoving aside the issue. "This academy was a...side project I guess you could call it. And I did some touch-ups and brought you all here! To the Ultimate Academy for Rejects! It's a working title." But before any of us could focus on that fact, Monokuma hit us with a much more dreadful one. "And for those of you already wishing to go home, I'm afraid I have some bad news. You're period of stay here at the academy is...forever!!!"

"WHAT!?" Ken couldn't help but shout.

"Bullshit," Ayano said dismissively.

"No, no, it's true! You 16 lucky students get to live out the rest of your natural born lives here within the confines of my school!" Monokuma cheered.

"Hey stop screwing with us! If this is a prank you better knock it off, now!" Daisuke growled while getting up from his seat. Hana nervously held onto his hand in order to get him to calm down.

Katsuo began to crack under the pressure as well, "An AI controlled bear? I...can't believe this, this is all just too weird, even for me!"

"I don't care what you are! Kidnapping is a crime, and you will feel the full wrath of the law if you do not release us!" Kamiko barked the order right at Monokuma.

Once more the suspicious bear looked disappointed in us. "My, my, you've only been here a short while and yet you already desperately want to leave... And I put so much time and effort into setting this place up for you all...I mean I gave you rooms, modern commodities, food, and yet you just spit on my gifts..."

"P-please...just let us g-go home..." Eiko managed to beg from beneath her cloak's hood.

"Very well, I suppose I could tell you..."

"Tell us what?" I asked.

"There is a way to leave the school. A simple rule that will allow any one of you to leave."

His words seemed so sweet and hopeful, and yet, he was clearly holding back an underlying maliciousness.

"A rule?" Kosuke repeated with interest.

"Yep! It's real simple! If you wish to leave, all YOU have to do is kill one of your classmates!"

Everyone was dead quiet after those words were exclaimed from Monokuma. The immediate response in my head was, _"There's no way that's true!"_, but after all the other weird stuff that had happened... Still, it seemed there were more vocal people who shared my thoughts.

"The fuck did you just say?" Ayano asked in angry disbelief.

"Do not even joke about that!" Kamiko shouted, staring daggers at the snickering bear.

"It's no joke! All you gotta do is murder someone in this room! And then-"

"That's enough!"

To everyone's surprise, Taro, who had been silent this whole time, finally shouted out. His voice was full of a pent up rage, his eyes locked onto Monokuma as he stood up from his seat and quickly marched onto the stage. He absolutely towered in comparison to Monokuma's small stature.

"I've heard enough of your talk. The beginning I could chalk up to a bad joke, but that last part I can't allow," Taro cracked his knuckles, "No one's dying here on my watch."

"I agree!" Kamiko cried, getting out of her seat as well.

"Kill each other? As if! You're fucking dead meat bear!" Daisuke joined in.

"Oh my! Kids these days can be so violen-AH!"

Taro abruptly lifted Monokuma up by the neck and squeezed, his fingers easily ripping into the fabric. Whilst Monokuma was incomprehensibly babbling and flailing, Taro slammed him onto the ground, followed up by quickly stomping his sturdy shoe down hard onto the bear's face. A loud crunching sound could be heard. Monokuma continued to writhe under his heel, but soon stopped.

"Oh, is he dead already? How anticlimactic," Kosuke shook his head with disappointment.

"I must agree, I was expecting more," Yukiko said.

"Who gives a damn!? He's dead, and that's all that matters!" Katsuo cheered.

"Thank you so much Mr. Taro, your boldness and brawn saved the day!" Ken cheered out to his classmate.

Taro's stern expression didn't falter, but he was indeed grateful for the kind words. But just when he thought he had won, that's when he and Shizu heard it.

"What is that?" the hitwoman asked aloud.

Taro and the others listened in closer, beginning to hear an ever growing louder beeping noise. Shock came over the large boy's face as he lifted his foot, now knowing the source of the beeping.

"M-move!" Shizu managed to shout out.

Taro was way ahead of her, wasting no time in jumping off the stage and lowering his head. Similarly, we all ducked in our seats and waited for what we knew was coming. 

*BOOM!*

Just as we feared, the ominous beeping had led to an explosion that lit up the room briefly and then continued to ring in our ears. Thankfully the metallic bits and pieces of Monokuma's insides flew over our heads and it seemed no one was hurt.

"Gah!" Fumio grunted, rubbing his ears, "So different from the movies..."

"I-is everyone...ok?" Eiko asked, timidly lifting her head back up.

"Yep! All good!" a familiar voice gleefully called out.

Horrified, I looked up to see Monokuma stood where his broken body should have been. But there he was, standing proudly once more.

"What..." Taro mumbled.

"I already told you, I'm an AI in a robot body! I've got plenty of copies to spare!" he laughed.

"We can destroy the body, but not the soul," Osamu uttered in joy and intrigue more than anything.

Monokuma glared at Taro, his red eye beginning to glow. "I'll let you off with a warning this time! Try that again however, and there will be severe consequences!"

Once more we were silent for varying reasons.

"Now then, please allow me to continue my explanation."

"Explanation?" I repeated.

"That's right, the explanation of.....THE KILLING GAME!" Monokuma shouted out with a grandiose wave of his stubby arms. 

"K-killing...game?" Eiko shakily asked, almost too afraid for him to continue.

"Yep! The killing game is the only way anyone can leave the school! It's a simple game, if you can kill someone and get away with it, you win!"

"Get away with it?" Yukiko said with a raised eyebrow.

"Allow me to explain the rules of the killing game!"

RULE 1: In order to leave this school, you must commit murder and get away with it.

RULE 2: Any student who commits murder will become 'blackened' and earn the right to graduate, unless discovered.

RULE 3: Any student is only allowed to kill a maximum of two people per killing game.

RULE 4: When three or more people discover a body an announcement will play to alert everyone that a murder has taken place.

RULE 5: Once a murder takes place there will be a short investigation period to look into the murder.

RULE 6: Soon after the investigation period a class trial will be held. It is mandatory for all surviving students to attend the trial.

RULE 7: If the blackened is exposed during the class trail, they alone will receive punishment.

RULE 8: If the blackened is not exposed during the class trial, all remaining students will be punished, and the blackened will graduate.

RULE 9: Nighttime is from 10pm-7am. Some areas such as the dining hall and gym are locked off at night.

RULE 10: Sleeping anywhere other than the student lounge and dormitories will be seen as sleeping in class, and is worthy of punishment.

RULE 11: Violence against headmaster Monokuma is strictly prohibited, and will result in punishment.

RULE 12: Destruction of surveillance cameras and monitors will not be tolerated, and will result in punishment. 

RULE 13: Monokuma will never directly murder a student.

RULE 14: With minimal restrictions, students are free to explore the academy at their leisure.

RULE 15: Headmaster Monokuma has the authority to add more rules as needed.

"And those are the rules! Oh, and just in case you ever need to check them again, you can by using this!" Monokuma pulled out a box from behind his podium, proceeding to toss an electronic tablet to each of us. "These are e-Hanbooks, and in addition to letting you re-read the rules, it also serves as a map, and it contains student profiles of each of your classmates! And even some other stuff. Aren't I such a nice headmaster?" Before anyone could say no, Monokuma jolted with a realization. "Ah! Almost forgot!" The teddy bear ran back behind the podium and took out little baggies of coins, tossing one to each of us. "Those are Monocoins. You can use those to purchase items from the gift shop! I've given you each some to get started, but you can always find more! Or hey, maybe I'll reward you with some if you do real well in a class trial and sniff out and punish your traitorous classmate!"

Ignoring the gifts, Kamiko glared at Monokuma and inquired, "You keep mentioning the word 'punish'... What do you mean by that?"

"I thought an officer of the law would understand, but I guess not! Of course I'm referring to a brutal death!" Monokuma roared joyously.

"Daisuke, I'm scared..." Hana whispered, clearly fighting back some tears.

"I wasn't expecting this to turn into a horror film..." Fumio sighed with displeasure.

"What's a class trial anyway?" I asked the bear.

Monokuma was all too eager to provide an answer. "It's quite simple! Once a murder has taken place, all students gather to discuss who the killer is in what I like to call the class trial! After the discussion is through, a vote will be held to determine the killer, and I believe you already know the price of voting for the wrong person, right?"

"Death..." Shizu whispered.

"Wait!" Fumio called out to the bear, "What about food!?"

Monokuma laughed with a dismissive wave of his hand, "What about it? I'll make sure the kitchen stays stocked, so there's no need to worry about starving. Just have a good time killing your classmates!"

While the other's despaired over the situation or kept to themselves, Yuu turned to look at Monokuma and questioned him. "Why us?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Why did you kidnap our class in particular?"

The bear just laughed, "Puhuhuhu! Why indeed? Maybe I just like you!"

Moving on, Yuu then asked, "Aside from your self-destruct feature, are you actually capable of harming us?"

Monokuma extended a pair of razor sharp claws from his black hand. "Would you like a demonstration?"

Yuu ignored what he said and continued, "You want us dead, and you have the means to do it yourself, so why make us play this 'game'?"

"Because it's more fun this way!" was all Monokuma gave for an answer.

"Finally, who's in control of you?"

"An AI! Geez, how many times do I have to repeat myself!?"

Yuu narrowed his eyes.

"Oh? Do you mean who's the one directly in control of me and pulling the strings around here? Puhuhuhu! That's a secret!" Before Yuu could try something else, Monokuma did a heel turn and was making his exit. "Well, I'll let you kids get to it! Remember, there's no limitations to how you can murder your classmates! Oh, and by the way, I've unlocked all of your rooms! Have a fun killing game everyone, I'll be watching!"

With our captor finally gone, we were forced to confront the fact that we had been given an out. Kill someone... This fact caused everyone to glance around at one another with suspicion. Admittedly, even I did it, wondering who amongst us could be capable of murder. Thankfully someone stepped up to the task of calming our nerves.

"Everyone...I know this is a lot to take in, but please, don't be deceived!" Kamiko spoke aloud to gather our attention. "I understand it is natural to suspect each other right now; we are still technically strangers. But I assure you, doing what our captor wants is not in our best interest!"

"She's right, even if one of us did commit murder that little bastard might not even let us go," Daisuke said.

"We shouldn't even be considering murder," Taro gruffly stated with finality, crossing his arms and giving a sweeping glance to everyone in the room.

Kosuke chuckled, "Better tell that to the professional murderer over there," the arsonist finished with an accusatory point to Shizu.

"Huh?" Shizu said.

Kosuke had to stifle another laugh before explaining, "We're in a death game, right? Shizu should feel right at home!"

Shizu looked away in hurt. "I would never dream of harming a classmate. I've only killed people I was assigned to."

"Lay off her Kosuke, she's perfectly fine!" Daisuke sternly said to the boy in the red coat.

Kosuke nonchalantly shrugged. "If you say so."

Kamiko retook control of the conversation, "Enough, now's not the time to suspect one another. We need to work together to escape."

"Then what is our next move?" Osamu questioned.

Kamiko continued to lead, "Let's split into two groups. We'll search the school again and see if we can't find an exit or something that we can use to call for help. I'll lead one team, and Yuu can handle the other."

Yuu raised an eyebrow, "I didn't agree to this."

"But who better to lead the second team than you Mr. detective?" Ken questioned.

"I agree with Kamiko, you two have ties to actual law enforcement in some way, so I think you'd be a great fit to lead the other search team," I urged Yuu.

"I don't see what good it'll do...but whatever, let's get to it."

From there the two teams of eight were quickly divvied up. I was with Yuu, Taro, Daisuke, Hana, Kosuke, Shizu, and Eiko. Our two teams split up to search the two classrooms out by the gift shop, and once inside everyone began scouring the seemingly plain rooms for anything we could've missed. Meanwhile, Taro was doing his damndest to try and pry off the steel plates from the windows.

"Gah! It's no use, these things are bolted into the wall," Taro said, still stretching his sore arms.

Daisuke gritted his teeth. "Kosuke! Ain't there something you can do about this!?" he asked the arsonist desperately.

"What, like melt them?" he laughed.

"Well...yeah?" Daisuke answered.

Kosuke shook his head and got closer to inspect the metal plating. "Not that it'd be impossible, but there is no way this place has what we need to make a fire that hot. Not to mention we'd more likely just end up burning this place down with us in it."

"S-so there's n-nothing we can do!?" Eiko cried.

"No," Yuu immediately said, "we can't force an escape through the windows, but there's still a chance there's an exit around here. One that Monokuma hid or one he forgot about." 

"Well where do we start?" Daisuke asked.

"The kitchen. Monokuma has to get food to us somehow," Shizu suggested.

"My thoughts exactly," Yuu agreed, already signaling for us to follow him.

Just as we had done in the classroom, both the dining hall and kitchen were thoroughly searched top to bottom for clues and exits. I happened upon Yuu and Shizu in the kitchen, still racking their brains on where the food came from.

Yuu sighed, "Now that I think about it, Monokuma must bring the food here manually himself."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He said one of the places closed at night was the dining hall. I assume this is because he uses that time to restock the food."

"But how does he come and go?" Shizu questioned.

"Simple!" a familiar voice cheered. We turned around to see Monokuma was now standing with us in the room. "How do you think I move aorund the school so fast? I have a multitude of secret little tunnels and whatnot that I use to get around! If fact if you ever need me somewhere all you have to do is call my name and I'll be there before you can bludgeon a baby to death!"

"What an odd unit of time measurement..." Shizu said.

Not giving up on defiance I said, "And you don't think we can find a way to access those tunnels?"

"Puhuhuhu! Nope! You'll never be able to access them, and even if you did they're not designed for students!" Monokuma put his hands on his hips and sighed like a disappointed parent, "You kids should just give up on this whole escaping thing and get started on the killing."

"No thanks," I spat, hoping he'd get the hint to leave.

He did, thankfully, and sure enough he had disappeared from the room. By this point we glumly left the kitchen to inform the rest of our group about what Monokuma said. Afterwards, with my encouragements and Yuu's authority we managed to keep everyone in top gear as we scoured the school for an exit of some kind. But we didn't find or see anything we hadn't before, and soon enough we had merged with Kamiko's group; now heading to the dining hall in order to discuss where to go from here. Everyone took a seat at the large table in the middle, and nearly all of them were silent and wore expressions of disappointment. 

Surprisingly, Hana was the first to speak, "What...what do we do now?"

"Yeah, I mean, we really are...trapped..." Katsuo seemed to admit to himself.

Kamiko leaned back in her seat. Her strong willed gaze wavered but she managed to keep it together. "I'm afraid we'll just have to wait for rescue."

Kosuke chuckled, not stopping his tapping fingers on the table, "Heh, and who says rescue is coming?"

"Sixteen kids go missing, and you really don't think the police are gonna look into that?" Daisuke said, comforting a troubled looking Hana.

"No doubt my family will be looking for me..." Shizu whispered.

Fumio tipped his glasses before weighing in, "Now I hate to say it, but typically in the movies, the main cast trapped by the criminal mastermind, don't get rescued by law enforcement."

"Yeah? Well it's a good thing this ain't a fuckin' movie!" Ayano barked. "I hate those bastards, but even I'd welcome their help right now..."

Almost as if to lay all the facts out on the table, Yuu began listing off the questions on all our minds. "Why was our class kidnapped? How did we lose our memories of the kidnapping? Who's behind all this?" I could tell that these questions were eating him up, and with no answers, all he could do was stare at his fingers locked together on the table.

Silence permeated the room again for a short time.

"It's getting late," Taro began, "Perhaps we should all go settle into our new lodgings and discuss things tomorrow morning."

Still with her determined look of leadership, Kamiko addressed all of us, "I agree, we should get some sleep and meet up here for breakfast tomorrow morning a little after 7a.m."

Almost all of us nodded or gave a verbal agreement of some kind, and even those who didn't weren't offering objections to the idea.

"I...also have a suggestion..." Shizu quietly announced. "We shouldn't leave our rooms at night...in order to avoid...incidents."

"My, my, how expected of a contract killer to be suspicious of everyone else!" Yukiko laughed. "But, I must agree. Having people wandering around while most of us sleep certainly could lead to a killing." At those blunt words, most of us looked away in discomfort. Standing from her seat, Yukiko smiled at us while heading for the exit, "It'd also be a wise move to keep your doors locked at night as well."

One by one, each of us began to filter out of the dining hall to go check out our new rooms. Even the thought of having to sleep in this place gave me a chill. The last four to leave the dining hall were Yuu, Kamiko, Taro, and myself.

"Hey Taro, thanks for trying to stop...you know...all this from happening," I awkwardly thanked my much larger classmate.

"Think nothing of it. I hate having to resort to violence, but if it meant keeping all of you safe, I knew I had no choice. I'm just sorry that, in the end, I was powerless to stop him."

"We still can stop him," Kamiko interjected, "As long as we don't fall prey to his villainous plot, we can survive here long enough until rescue comes."

"I still can't believe we're in this crazy mess. It's like something you'd see in a movie or a game, or something," I uttered.

Finally going up the stairs to reach our dormitories, Kamiko and Taro set off for their rooms after giving brief parting words.

"You ok?" Yuu asked me out of the blue.

I appreciated the thought, but I wasn't expecting him to care. "Fine...well fine as I can be in this situation."

"You're doing quite well for a simple janitor," he stated.

"That's Ultimate Janitor to you," I jabbed, "But, I think it's more the fact that it all still feels so unreal to me. I mean, do you really think someone will try to commit murder?"

Yuu didn't answer right away, instead he gripped his scarf while thoughts ran through his mind. "It's possible. Whether or not what that bear said to us was true, someone in that crowd probably believed every word of it. And the fear and doubt that has lodged itself in their mind could possibly drive them to murder if it means escaping this situation."

I looked at Yuu, my concern quite evident.

"But that's just a possibility. The best thing we can do is remain calm and try to figure out how to escape."

"You're right. And besides, I still want to be friends with everyone here! So I'll make sure we all get along, and escape here together!"

"That's...a bit optimistic but-" he stopped, likely rethinking his next words, "Never mind. Do what you will."

"I will, but I hope you know this means I'm going to be getting you to hang out with everyone too, right?" I said with a grin.

"Joy..." was all Yuu had to reply with before heading off to his room.

Seeing Yuu go off to his room, I decided to take note of where everyone's lodgings were. In the boy's hall, the order on the right was Yuu, Ken, Katsuo, Fumio, while on the left was Daisuke, Kosuke, Taro, Osamu. Over in my hallway the order on the right side was Hana, Kamiko, Yukiko, Jin, while on the left was me, Ayano, Eiko, Shizu. Entering through the door with my face on it, I was greeted with a rather sparse pink and black room. Pushed up against the left wall was a bed with pink bedding, and a rather plain looking chair and desk were next to it. Along the right wall was a bookshelf, a TV atop a small simple black stand, and an armchair placed near the television. Along the back wall was a monitor in the top right corner, a wardrobe in the middle, and a door that led to a simple bathroom on the left.

"Like the new digs!?" a familiar voice asked me from behind.

With a jump I spun around to find Monokuma standing before me. "H-how'd you even get in here?! I didn't hear you come in!"

"Puhuhu, don't you remember? I can access any area of the school at anytime!" he giggled, "Oh, but I would never barge in when you were doing anything 'important'."

"Ugh, why are you here!?" I couldn't help but snap at the annoying stuffed bear.

"I just came by to tell you a few things. First, the wardrobe is stocked with a few changes of clothes!"

I took a quick peek inside. "They're...all the same as my current outfit..."

"Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it! Next, you should know that your bathroom door does indeed lock!"

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Well the boys bathrooms don't have locks on them!"

"Why? What's even the point of that!?"

"Do you really think the boys care about that kinda thing?" Monokuma held his paws up to his mouth and giggled.

"..."

"And finally!" Monokuma reached behind his back and then triumphantly held up a small gold key, "Dun da da da! Your room key! Don't lose it, you only get one!"

I took the key and pocketed it.

"Welp, guess I better go pay gloomy little Yuu a visit before he heads off to bed, toodles!"

And with that, Monokuma quickly exited my room. As uncomfortable as it was staying in a place like this, I still had to get ready to go to bed. After taking a shower and getting comfy, that's when the announcement played.

*Ding dong bing bong* "It is now officially 10pm, nighttime is now in effect. Sweet dreams everyone! Good niiight!"

Exhausted from the day's events, not even Monokuma's annoying voice could dissuade me from curling up in the bed and trying to get some sleep. Admittedly, it took a bit before I had fallen asleep; the feeling of sleeping in a different place and in a different bed just didn't sit right in my mind. But eventually my eyelids grew heavy, and my thoughts began to drift, ending in me falling into a dreamless sleep.

Meanwhile

Yuu was lying in bed, staring up at the dark ceiling of his room. His thoughts, usually calm and rational, were now jumbled. Conflicted between solving the mystery of his current situation, and figuring out which of his classmates he could trust. Yuu thought back to what Tsukiko said, about getting along with everyone and escaping together. An optimistic ideal, but in the end that's all it was. He knew that for the current moment perhaps no one even considered committing murder, but if rescue didn't show up in the next few days... Yuu knew the likelihood would only increase with each passing day.

_"For your sake Tsukiko, let's just hope rescue does come..."_

**Prologue: END**

**Surviving Students: 16 **


	3. Student Profiles

Tsukiko Kurosawa

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 119 lbs.

Blood Type: A

D.O.B: December 18th

Likes: Metal Music

Dislikes: Solitude 

Ultimate: Janitor

Yuu Yukimori

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 127 lbs.

Blood Type: AB

D.O.B: September 15th

Likes: Old movies

Dislikes: Parties

Ultimate: Private Investigator

Daisuke Matsumoto

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 158 lbs.

Blood Type: A

D.O.B: April 3rd

Likes: Dogs

Dislikes: Poaching

Ultimate: Hunter

Hana Mori

Height: 5'3"

Weight: 105 lbs.

Blood Type: AB

D.O.B: May 12th

Likes: Gardens

Dislikes: Snakes

Ultimate: Florist

Katsuo Nakahara

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 146 lbs.

Blood Type: B

D.O.B: November 10th

Likes: Open fields

Dislikes: Tight places

Ultimate: Track Runner

Ayano Oka

Height: 5'8"

Weight: 134 lbs.

Blood Type: A

D.O.B: June 21st

Likes: Motorcycles

Dislikes: Cops/Boring buildings

Ultimate: Graffiti Artist

Taro Sakai

Height: 6'4"

Weight: 222 lbs.

Blood Type: O

D.O.B: March 17th

Likes: Novels

Dislikes: Drunk drivers

Ultimate: Bartender

Eiko Nakagame

Height: 4'8"

Weight: 89 lbs.

Blood Type: A

D.O.B: February 19th

Likes: Games

Dislikes: Pranks

Ultimate: Dungeon Master

Kosuke Akiyama

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 130 lbs.

Blood Type: O

D.O.B: August 22nd

Likes: Lighter Fluid

Dislikes: Thunderstorms

Ultimate: Arsonist

Yukiko Oshiro

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 120 lbs.

Blood Type: B

D.O.B: December 6th

Likes: Tea

Dislikes: Physical sports

Ultimate: Chess Master

Osamu Ikeru

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 128 lbs.

Blood Type: B

D.O.B: October 30th

Likes: Anatomy/Scalpels

Dislikes: Birds

Ultimate: Surgeon

Kamiko Anzai

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 149 lbs.

Blood Type: AB

D.O.B: July 11th

Likes: Order

Dislikes: Liars

Ultimate: Police Officer

Ken Kaneko

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 132 lbs.

Blood Type: A

D.O.B: May 20th

Likes: Women/ Cleanliness

Dislikes: Horror/Gore

Ultimate: Golfer

Jin Mikazuki

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 112 lbs.

Blood Type: AB

D.O.B: January 13th

Likes: Spiders/Quiet places

Dislikes: The outdoors/ Door-to-door salesmen

Ultimate: Violinist

Fumio Fukami

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 267 lbs.

Blood Type: B

D.O.B: September 25th

Likes: Buttered popcorn

Dislikes: Bribery

Ultimate: Movie Critic

Shizu Kuroko

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 138 lbs.

Blood Type: O

D.O.B: January 3rd

Likes: Meditation/Cute animals

Dislikes: Failure

Ultimate: Hitwoman


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